TAX REFORM: some thoughts after (painfully) filling out my 2009 tax forms. Mine is not a particularly difficult return, but it does cover all the bases: earned income (wages), retirement income, interest, dividends, qualified dividends, long- and short-term capital gains/losses, distributions, and carryovers.

Ignoring the time it took to collect and collate the data, it took 2 full days, 1 form, 3 schedules, and 5 worksheets to complete. The most egregious was the capital gains/losses worksheet which took 14 lines of data from 3 returns to generate the capital loss carryover – which was available on last year’s return.

The benefit of turning 65 is zilch. Check the box on line 39a (or not); it means nothing if you itemize deductions.

I will take a flat tax, fair tax, almost any tax in place of this abortion we call the income tax.

Every congresscritter and administration official should be required to fill out his own tax form, handwritten, in ink, using only a hand calculator and telephone assistance from the IRS Help line.